Gradius NES Virtual Console Review

Birthed in the arcades, Konami's Gradius was ported to a number of home consoles, among them being the NES. While the visuals and sound obviously aren't on the same level of the arcade original, the NES version of Gradius is still a fine shooter.


The thing that sets Gradius apart from other games in the genre is the unique method of powering up your ship. On it's own, the Vic Viper isn't much to speak of, but by collecting red power capsules from fallen enemies you can increase your ships speed, use missiles, lasers, a protective force field, and options, which replicate your ships fire power. You can opt to nab these in any order you choose, so long as you've collected enough power capsules. Will you get your options first or max out your speed? No two people will play this game the same way.


Even with the cool power ups, Gradius is not an easy game and this can prove especially humbling to new players. The game's seven levels force you to stay alert at all times. The main struggle is often surviving the stages because the bosses (which is always the Big Core until the final level) are very anti-climatic. Danger is literally all around you in every stage and dying means losing all of your weapons, leaving you contend with just your standard peashooter. Take it from someone who knows, navigating the trickier areas in Gradius with zero power ups is not fun, even for those who wish for a challenge.

Like the arcade game, the NES version has no continues so when you use up all your lives, you're treated to a nice 8-bit rendition of the Gradius Game Over music, which plays on screen where you died just to rub salt into the wound. Would at least a few continues for a home port of Gradius have been asking too much? The lack of continues make an already hard game even more difficult. Thankfully, one of the programmers responsible for this particular version realized players needed some kind of edge. By pausing the game and entering Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start, your ship is almost fully powered up (everything except lasers) and can be used a maximum of three times. That code would go on to be known as the Konami Code and it just may be your best friend in a pinch.


Despite the difficulty, Gradius still manages to be fun. It's challenging but far from being unplayable. Some of the sounds come out a bit flat on the NES, but there's still some catchy tunes here such as Challenger 1985 (the first level) and Final Attack (seventh level). It isn't the most visually appealing of Konami shooters on this system (Life Force is far more impressive), but it still looks adequate. There are better shooters on the Virtual Console but NES Gradius is still solid and not a bad investment of 500 points. As the announcer would say, "Destroy them all!"

7/10

GASP! I Actually Bought Some GBA Games!

It can be very difficult making a purchase when it comes to video games. I must have paced the shelves of GameStop for over 20 minutes try to come to a decision. There's still lots of games I need to add to my PS2 library. I also need a few more titles to complete my GameCube set. For all the DS games I own, at times it feels like I haven't really scratched the surface. In the end, I walked out with two Game Boy Advance titles, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, two titles I'd been meaning to pick up for some time now.

Nightmare in Dreamland is a pretty good remake of the NES classic Kirby's Adventure, one of my favorite games for said system. While I still prefer the original, I can't find much fault in this remake. The updated visuals are smooth and the music is just as catch. As of this writing, I'm already on the third world.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong has been called a remake of the 1994 Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which for my money is not only the best DK game ever, but one of the best Mario games. Having played through the first world, I honestly can't see why the word "remake" would even be applied to this title. Sure, Mario flips switches, performs hand stands and pays lots of gameplay tributes to DK '94 but this is very much a brand new game, and a highly enjoyable one at that. It looks and sounds great and the returned gameplay from DK '94 is very welcome. I'll have to pick up March of the Mini-Mes sometime.

Mega Man Fan Film is Out

So last week, the Mega Man fan film was finally made available for viewing. Last year when I'd seen the trailer for it, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, the Blue Bomber in a live action flick? The whole concept just made me cringe. But I still knew I'd watch it when it came out and watch it I did. And I have to say, I came away pretty impressed. 

Most of the plot centers around the very first Mega Man game and it uses elements from both the American and Japanese versions of the series and even add some original elements to make things more interesting. The film even makes use of Proto Man (going by his original Japanese name Blues) for good measure and without giving too much away, I think Keiji Inafune would be proud with what was done with the character. 

The music was on par with a professional movie using entirely new compositions and beautiful arrangements based off the game. Anyone that's a fan of Proto Man's trademark whistle or Dr. Wily Stage 1 from Mega Man 2 (read: everybody) will swoon. The soundtrack is also available as a free download. Just enter 0 as your price. 

If you dig Mega Man and company, check it out. Just bear in mind that it is a fan film and you should have a good time. There are far worse ways you could kill 93 minutes. 

That New System Smell

About a month ago I bought something that had been on my wish list for years: a Wii. Some folks may think "You got a Wii? But it doesn't have the biggest selection of games! You should have gotten a PS3/360!" As great as those systems are, I honestly wanted a Wii more than either of those. At $200, the Wii is more in my price range, I can get a lot of the systems best games at bargain prices and the Virtual Console (I've got a whole second blog entry for that) is an old-school gamer's best friend. Really, even if some of my best friends were present when I went shopping for a Wii, they would not have been able to talk me out of it. My mind was made up.

Thus far, I have six Wii games for the system. The bundled Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which was actually my very first stand alone purchase), Super Mario Galaxy, House of the Dead: OVERKILL, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, and MadWorld. The only game I picked up new was Brawl, the rest were used and dirt cheap. I pretty much like all that I've played. The only games I haven't gotten around to yet are NiGHTS and MadWorld. If I can stop playing Virtual Console games, I should be able to start those up.

Having spent more time with the Wii Remote than I ever have before, I can say without hesitation that it's one of the most comfortable game controllers ever created. Stood upright, it looks liked a stripped down TV remote. Turned horizontal, it resembles the classic NES controller. Even when using the Wii Remote with the Nunchuk, things still feel very natural. When I read that I'd have to play Super Mario Galaxy using the two components, I was a bit put off. Not even 3 minutes into starting up the game were my worries put to rest. The thing is also great with WiiWare and Virtual Console games (Though I did have to pick up a Classic Controller for some VC games, more on that later.)

It feels great to finally be a part of the seventh generation of video games. I haven't been blogging as much because the sleek white box is hard to pull myself away from but I'll try to remedy that.

Mega Man & Mega Man X Art Books

In 2008 in Japan, R20: Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works was released. This 330 + page book contained 20 years worth of art work from the classic Rockman and Rockman X series. Fast forward to 2009 and the book sees a translated release in America by Udon, split into two books, Mega Man Official Complete Works and Mega Man X Official Complete Works. While other Mega Man fans coped these as soon as they came out, I had to wait until I got some extra cash to nab them. Well my wait has ended and I'm pleased to say that I bought the last two copies of each book that my Borders had.

As stated above, each book contains decades of art work from each respective series. This includes, character art, enemy designs, robot master/maverick art, manga art, box art, concept art, the whole nine yards. I've always loved the art from the Mega Man/Mega Man X games and I never realized just how much art went into each one until I looked through these. As both a Mega Man fan and an art lover, this is truly amazing stuff.
The books also contain commentary by series lead producer Keiji Inafune and the various artists that have worked on the series through the years. It's fun to read their thoughts on things they liked and didn't like. For instance, did you know that if he had the chance, Inafune would love to redo all the Mega Man games he's worked on? Or that Mega Man 2 was done in three months time? Lots of interesting tidbits to go along with the glossy art.

I really can't say enough good things about these art books. At $39.99 each, they set me back nearly $100, but they were worth every penny. My only nitpick would be that despite each booked being hailed as "Complete Works," it isn't quite complete. There's some missing pieces of American box art and commentary tells that some other pieces of art were omitted as well. Still, it really is hard to find fault here. If you're a Mega Man nut, your collection is incomplete without these books.

Metal Gear Solid 2 Revisited

I've spent numerous play throughs getting reacquainted with Metal Gear Solid 2 (the Substance version) and I must say, it's so good to be back! It's been nearly 10 year since I played the game but it feels like I never left. MGS2 was my favorite MG game when I first played it and it's still remains my favorite MG game.

When MGS was originally released, players were treated to a very unexpected surprise upon entering the game's second chapter: Solid Snake was not the star of the show. Instead, the spotlight was cast on Raiden, a rookie who became more and more unsure of himself as each situation presented to him became more and more demanding. Still, for a newbie, Raiden was highly skilled, going toe-to-toe with members of the terrorist group Dead Cell, fighting off a Harrier, showing off a a great degree of skill with a blade.

For many players, Raiden stuck out like a sore thumb. He was hated because he didn't have the same attitude that Snake had and he was hated because he wasn't Snake. I admit, I was surprised to and Raiden being the star of MGS2 has got to be one of the best kept secrets in the video game industry. That said, I really liked the character that Hideo Kojima gave us in Raiden. A lot of people like to think that they'd behave just like Snake if they were in the same shoes that Raiden were. The harsh reality is, none of us really know how we'll act in certain situations unless we've actually been there. Place some of these so-called tough guys in Raiden's place for the first time and we'll see what kinda man they really are.

Of course Raiden wasn't the only thing that maid MGS2 the black sheep of the series. The story had everyone that played it scratching their head, leaving us with more mysteries than answers. MGS4 cleared all of this up, but even when I didn't know what was going on, one thing was certain: MGS2 was one of the most enjoyable games I'd ever played and it still is. 

Now if you'll exsuse me, I'm off to have some fun with infinite ammo and stealth. 

Mega Man 10: A Look from Outside

Mega Man 10 released for the Wii on WiiWare yesterday. I thought I could be strong and avoid coverage on the game until I got my Wii (waiting to get my tax returns done) to play the game, but I just couldn't help myself.
I've already heard all the music and seen a playthrough of the game from start to finish via YouTube so I thought I'd go ahead and post my thoughts on the game clearly on a viewing standpoint.
Music: Let's get one of the numero uno things outta the way first, the music. It's a Mega Man game and when you play a game from this series, you come in expecting some good tunage and MM10 does not disappoint. MM9 had an overall great score, but some themes left something to be desired, the intro themes in particular. I feel MM10 has far and away superior intro themes.
The robot master themes ain't too shabby either, thoubh MM9's robot master themes may trump MM10's, the ones presented in this game are nothing to scoff at and I'm even tempted to lean more towards MM10 simply because the songs are more than just catchy. That isn't to say MM10 doesn't have it's share of catchy tracks, but more often than not, it felt like MM9's score were trying to be nothing more than catchy. MM10's score is much more diverse.
I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but for some reason, I got reminded of music from the Kirby series when I heard Sheep Man's theme. And that certainly isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's one of my favorite themes in the game. Another memorable tune belongs to Chill Man, and I must say, that if classic MM games are to continue, the series is in dire need of more tracks like his. Chill Man's theme manages to be melancholy and relaxing at the same time. It's one of my favorite ice-themed tracks in the MM series and now one of my favorite MM tracks ever.
What I'm trying to say is, MM music should hit all levels and MM10's score hits the mark better than MM9 did. I guess it helps that MM10's music was composed by nearly every person that had a hand in creating Mega Man music over the years, including one of my all-time favorites, Bunbun, who did the music for MM3.
Level Design: Like MM9 before it, MM10's levels tend to lend more towards MM2s, but it looks like they decided to take pages from the other games as well. Thankfully, there aren't spikes all over the place. Oh spikes are still around, but they aren't the sole death trap in the game. It's as if the developers read my mind. That or they heard the massive outcries from the fans that all the spikes in MM9 was overkill.
The levels still retain somewhat of a puzzle-feel to them. Sheep Man's stage has some color coated floors and touching the same colored floor as a pair of spikes will make them disappear. In Chill Man's stage, you can shoot blocks of ice with your default weapon, or jump on them several times to make them vanish. People are saying MM10 is harder than MM9 but based off what I've seen, MM9 still looks like the harder game.
Plot: SPOILERS!!! Stop reading right now if you don't want the story of MM10 spoiled for you. Alright, I'm sure all of you figured out Wily was the behind the misfortune of everyone in MM10... again. 99.9% of us already new knew it was Wily before the achievements were revealed (the first one being called "Whomp Wily!"). Seriously, if the man is gonna take of the world, I wish he'd stop hiding behind facades. Its older than dirt already! And the people of 20XX or whatever year it is! Agggghhhh!! This includes Mega Man and company. With the exception of Proto Man, they are all too dumb to live. I love the Blue Bomber, but I'm sorry. How many times are they gonna trust a whack job that tried to take over the world over ten times? And it's not like he kidnapped Dr. Light. Or framed him. Realistically, Mega Man should have blasted Wily at the end of MM7 like he was going to. He'd have saved the world a mess of trouble. But I digress.
The idiocy of the people in the year 20XX aside, I actually liked the idea of robots falling into to a virus. For all we know, it could have been the predecessor to the Zero virus. And Roll giving a sick Mega Man the cure was a crowing moment of heartwarming if I ever saw one. Though Wily leaving a truckload of cure behind for everyone makes me scratch my head.
Robot Masters: Sheep Man was the very first robot master to be revealed and even though he was... strange, to say the least, many MM fans embraced him. Toad Man wishes he got that much love. But as more and more robot masters came out, it was hard to ignore that a majority of them are on the silly side. Strike Man? Pump Man? Really? I wonder if it's just me that thinks most of these guys belong among the oddballs. MM5-6 may not be the most memorable among the MM games, but they still had some nice looking, cool looking robots to fight. (Well except Plant Man. He sucks.) Even MM2 has it's share of weirdos. Bubble Man, Wood Man, I'm looking at you two. But I still love 'em. Maybe MM10's robot masters will grow on me.
So there you have it, my outside look on MM10. I'll have a more in depth review when I get the game and play it.